1). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system and method for managing subscriptions in a scenario where a merchant server repeatedly instructs a billing server to charge a user account at a carrier server.
2). Discussion of Related Art
A consumer who shops for goods or services online may often be given the option to use a selection of payment sources during checkout, such as payment by credit card, debit card, payment from an account held by an institution, or to charge for a purchase on their phone bill. When the consumer selects to charge to their phone bill, a merchant server instructs a billing server which is aligned with a carrier server to carry out the charge. The billing server usually communicates with a consumer mobile phone to confirm the charge before placing the charge on the phone bill at the carrier server.
Consumers also purchase subscriptions online, typically for services such as music or movies, and then make repeat payments on a monthly or other billing cycle. These subscriptions are usually charged directly to a credit card account held by a financial institution. Repeated communications with the consumer to confirm each renewal charge is not required in such a situation. However, if such a charge would be submitted by a merchant server to a carrier server, the carrier server typically has a requirement to confirm the charge with the consumer mobile phone. A billing cycle may go by wherein the consumer has neglected to confirm the charge, in which case the subscription would be lost to the merchant.